How Food & Drink retailers are reacting to the plastic debate.

How Food & Drink retailers are reacting to the plastic debate

In this rolling update, we will detail the way businesses that sell Food & Drink products are responding to consumer, industry and government demands to reduce plastic use.

11th July 2018 – Business Green reported that Le Pain Quotidien has announced plans to ban plastic straws across all its 220 branches worldwide.

10th July 2018 – The Guardian reported that Starbucks is ditching plastic straws from its stores globally by 2020, using instead straws made from other materials, and lids designed not to need straws.

26th June 2018 – The Independent reported that Morrisons is bringing back traditional brown paper bags for loose fresh fruit and vegetables, that will be available in all of the supermarket chain’s 493 stores by the end of the summer.

15th June 2018 – London Evening Standard reported that McDonald’s is reducing single-use plastics, with all the UK sites to replace plastic straws with paper alternatives from September 2018.

24th April 2018 – BBC Newsreported that independent coffee chain Boston Tea Party will only serve hot drinks in reusable cups from 1st June. They will be the first coffee chain in the UK to completely ban the use of disposable cups.

10th April 2018 – BBC News reported that Waitrose will remove all disposable cups from its stores by the autumn, as the supermarket claims the move will save 52 million cups a year.

31st March 2018 – The Guardian reported that The Co-op supermarket plans to switch all of its own-brand water to 50% recycled plastic bottles. They will be 100% recyclable and introduced into stores later on this year.

26th March 2018 – The i reported that Starbucks has announced a plan to invest $10 million to create the world’s first 100 per cent recyclable and disposable coffee cup within three years. However, environmentalist groups have criticised the coffee giant, stating that compostable cups are already available.

22nd March 2018 – After it was noted that Network Rail had plans to introduce water fountains at all major UK railway stations, City AM reported that Charing Cross has become the first station to roll out free drinking water.

9th March 2018 – The Independent reported that Lidl has joined Aldi, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons in scrapping 5p plastic bags.

8th March 2018 – Daily Mail reported that Aldi is the latest supermarket to support a plastic bottle deposit return scheme, alongside Tesco, Iceland and the Co-op. Aldi has also made the decision to stop selling 5p bags at tills, which will cut the number in circulation by 67 million a year.

6th March 2018 – Daily Mirror reported that Tesco will be cutting down the amount of plastic used in food packaging by launching ready meals in cardboard boxes. However, the meals will still be protected by a plastic film which cannot be recycled.

3rd March 2018 – Daily Mirror reported that supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, Asda, Tesco and Morrisons are charging more per kilogram for loose fruit and vegetables, making it more expensive to shop plastic-free.

28th February 2018 – The Times reported that Pret a Manger will become the first retailer to trial a bottle deposit scheme, imposing a 10p refundable deposit on its own-brand plastic bottles. The scheme will be introduced at three of its sites in Brighton.

26th February 2018 – The Independent reported that Starbucks has introduced a 5p charge for single-use coffee cups in 35 of its central London outlets to help tackle the plastic pollution epidemic in the UK.

21st February 2018 – Time Out reported on Bulk Market, a zero-waste pop-up that is crowdfunding to open a permanent site in Hackney. Its ultimate aim is to shrink London’s plastic footprint by selling loose produce contained in glass jars.

16th February 2018 – London Evening Standard reported that Planet Organic has launched a collection of refillable dispensers for shoppers eager to boycott plastic. From Monday, customers in Muswell Hill, Torrington Place, Fitzrovia and Westbourne Grove stores will be able to fill their own tupperware containers with cereals, pulses and pasta.

15th February 2018 – Daily Mirror reported that Glastonbury bosses have pledged to ban plastic bottles from Worthy Farm upon the festival’s return next year.

13th February 2018 – BBC News reported that, by 2020, it hopes that all of its sites will be free from single-use plastics. It will begin its pledge by scrapping throwaway plastic cups and cutlery by the end of this year, followed by plastic containers in canteens by 2019.

7th February 2018 – London Evening Standard reported that Marriott is removing plastic straws from all 60 of its sites in Britain, with immediate effect. Customers asking for straws will be offered bio-degradable or plastic alternatives.

7th February 2018 – The Guardian reported that Eurostar has pledged to reduce its use of plastics by half by 2020 – including the millions of plastic bottles given out to passengers each year.

6th February 2018 – Business Green reported that London City Airport has become the first airport in the UK to implement a ban on disposable straws, opting to replace them with biodegradable alternatives that will only be available upon request.

5th February 2018 – The Guardian reported that Asda has promised to get rid of 5p carrier bags in all its shops by the end of the year, replace 2.4 million plastic straws used in its cafes with paper alternatives and introduce reusable drinks cups in its stores by the end of 2019.

1st February 2018 – The Telegraph reported that the world’s largest cruise company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, has pledged to eliminate single-use plastics from its three cruise lines.

1st February 2018 – Financial Times reported that Network Rail has plans to introduce water fountains at all major UK railway stations, in an effort to encourage the public to carry refillable water bottles.

31st January 2018 – The Guardian reported that Ryanair has pledged to get rid of all non-recyclable plastics on its planes and at its HQ and bases by 2023.

28th January 2018 – The Observer reported that The Co-op is working with its tea supplier to develop a fully biodegradable paper teabag that does not contain plastic.

25th January 2018 – The Times reported that Costa, Starbucks and Pret a Manger will offer free tap water to passers-by in order to cut down the use of disposable plastic bottles.

24th January 2018 – London Evening Standard reported that Pizza Express has banned plastic straws in support of its ‘The Last Straw’ campaign after a five-year-old girl begged them to stop offering straws to customers.

24th January 2018 – London Evening Standard reported that Novus Leisure, which owns Tiger Tiger, Loop, Forge and Balls Brothers brands, has pledged to scrap straws at its 38 London venues.

15th January 2018 –The Guardian reported that Iceland has become the first major retailer to pledge to eliminate plastic packaging for all own-branded products.

14th January 2018 – BBC News reported that, by 2025, Tesco wants all its packaging to be recyclable and to halve its total packaging weight compared to 2007.

14th January 2018 – BBC News reported that, by 2020, Sainsbury’s will aim to reduce plastic packaging by half, compared to 2005. The retailer also redesigned its two-pint milk bottles in between 2015 and 2016, saving 580 tonnes of plastic a year.

14th January 2018 – BBC News reported that Asda has saved 82 tonnes of plastic since 2007 by reducing the weight of its two-litre own brand water bottles.

14th January 2018 – BBC News reported that, in September 2017, Morrisons trialled the removal of single-use carrier bags in six of its stores and plans to phase out plastic drinking straws in its cafes.

14th January 2018 – BBC News reported that Aldi has not sent any waste directly to landfill since 2014 and that, by 2020, the retailer wants to source all its pulp-based packaging from approved forests.

14th January 2018 – BBC News reported that, by 2020, The Co-op plans for 80 per cent of its products to have “easily recyclable” packaging and that the supermarket supports the idea of a bottle return scheme.

14th January 2018 – BBC News reported that, by 2025, Waitrose aims for its own-label packaging to be widely recyclable, reusable or home compostable.

14th January 2018 – BBC News reported that Marks & Spencer claims that more than 90% of its UK packaging is recyclable.